Latin name of genus and species of the plant claimed: Corresponds approximately to Vaccinium corymbosum L. The clone, however, is a hybrid, and in its ancestry are also some genes from Vaccinium darrowi Camp.
Variety denomination: Southern Belle.
xe2x80x98Southern Bellexe2x80x99 is a low-chill southern highbush blueberry clone intended for production of blueberry fruit that can be harvested early in the season when the clone is grown in areas with mild winters. Although the fruit can be frozen or otherwise processed, it is anticipated that most of the production will be harvested for fresh-market shipments early in the harvest season. xe2x80x98Southern Bellexe2x80x99 is the product of an interspecific hybridization program, and thus does not correspond to any species. The parent species used to breed xe2x80x98Southern Bellexe2x80x99 were Vaccinium corymbosum L. and V. darrowi Camp. xe2x80x98Southern Bellexe2x80x99 is not a simple hybrid between these species, but rather is the product of many generations of recurrent selection in which genes of these two species were repeatedly recombined.
xe2x80x98Southern Bellexe2x80x99 is a vegetatively propagated clone derived from a seedlings planted at the Horticultural Unit of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla. in about 1980. The seedling was grown from a seed produced by hand-pollination of potted blueberry plants in a greenhouse in Gainesville. Although the exact pedigree of xe2x80x98Southern Bellexe2x80x99 is unknown, the seedling is the result of 5 to 8 generations of recurrent selection in which the best features of northern highbush cultivars from Michigan and New Jersey (all unpatented) were being combined with the heat tolerance and low chilling requirement of the Florida native blueberry species Vaccinium darrowi. The seedling was selected from a population of approximately 10,000 that were being tested in a field nursery. It was chosen because of its large fruit size, high firmness, small, dry picking scar, and good flavor. Softwood cuttings from the seedling were rooted and were used to establish a clonal plot near Homerville, Ga. in 1984. Because the clonal plot had high yields, large berry size, and high fruit quality compared to other selections being tested at the location, xe2x80x98Southern Bellexe2x80x99 was repeatedly propagated by softwood cuttings until more than 10,000 plants had been planted in the field by 1996. Asexual propagation by softwood cuttings has repeatedly produced plants uniform in characteristics and identical to the original seedling in all distinguishing characteristics. xe2x80x98Southern Bellexe2x80x99 is genetically stable when propagated by softwood cuttings.
xe2x80x98Southern Bellexe2x80x99 has the following novel combination of characteristics that set it apart from other blueberry varieties:
1. It flowers and produces new leaves readily in the spring when grown in areas where the mean January temperature is as high as 55 degrees F.
2. It produces a large, firm berry with a small dry scar and a sweet, sub-acid flavor. Mean berry weight on healthy, well-pruned plants averages 2.3 g per berry.
3. It produces high yields of berries borne on stout stems produced from a thicket of vigorous canes sprouting from the crown of the plant.
4. It roots readily from softwood cuttings.
5. When grown in north-central Florida (mean January temperature 56xc2x0 F.), the average date of 50% open flower is March 1 and the average date of 50% ripe fruit is April 28.
6. It has excellent packinghouse qualitiesxe2x80x94when hand-harvested, the berries are free of stems, skin tears, or adhering dried corollas. The storage life as a fresh berry at 32xc2x0 F. is unusually long for a southern highbush cultivar.
7. The berry color is medium to light blue.
8. The clone is tetraploid, with a somatic chromosome number 48.